Minnesota’s Medical Marijuana Program Needs More Money

ST. PAUL (AP) — Minnesota's medical marijuana program needs more money to help cover costs associated with being one of the most restrictive laws in the country.

The state's Office of Medical Cannabis is seeking $500,000 over the next two years as lawmakers put together a $40 billion-plus budget. Top regulators say that money would help pay unexpected costs of a massive patient database and routine inspections without possibly increasing medicine costs for patients.

Minnesota is one of 28 states with a medical marijuana law on the books. The 2014 law bans the plant form, offers pills and oils only to patients with 10 severe conditions and requires secondary lab testing.

The two licensed manufacturers lost a combined $5.2 million in their first year of operations in 2015.